This was from last year. Look at how mean Charlotte looks in this picture!! Also, look at her little stubby legs! So cute!! Also, just so no one is concerned, she didn’t ride anywhere like this. My parents did this in their driveway and put her in her car seat after the picture!

You are making me draggy and sniffly and sad. I’m tired of you and would like to kindly ask you to evacuate the area. What’s that? You’re going to be around for the next 10 days? Well, then maybe next time I will ask you not-so-kindly…

Dear pants I wore yesterday,

I’m sorry I ripped a hole by the belt loop. You’re one of the few pairs that fit me right now, so please don’t let that hole get bigger. No one needs to see that much of me!

Dear Snoop,

I know that Charlotte plays your music allllll night, but if your batteries could last a longer, that would be helpful. Also, if your batteries could avoid going out right when she’s about to go to sleep, I would be okay with that. (Here’s an explanation of who Snoop is! Our daughter doesn’t listen to rap music all night hahaha!)

Dear sunflower seeds,

Thanks for making Charlotte so happy. I don’t know any other almost 2 year old that loves sunflower seeds as much as she does! Then again, I don’t really know too many almost 2 year olds, so there’s that…

Dear Friday,

I’m glad you’re here. It’s been a heck of a week!

Dear Koopa,

Stop trying to walk through all of the mud in the yard. I know it’s been raining for about 75 years, but someday it will stop and the ground will be dry again. Then you can walk your happy self through the yard as much as you want to!

Dear Charlotte,

How do you keep getting cuter and cuter? Also, how do you know how to do that little head tilt and grin when you’re about to get in trouble for something?!?

Dear Will,

One day at a time. Now, take a minute to get on Pinterest and look up the recipe for a Starbucks cherry mocha. That’s your weekend experiment… 😉

I’m a couple of days late on this linkup (seems to be my common theme this week), but today I’m joining The Blended Blog’s latest prompt – What Love Looks Like.

During Valentine’s Day, people tend to focus on romantic love. Romantic love is probably the most popular thing that comes to mind when people think about love, but it is not the only way to show love.

Love can have many faces. It can look like support from a friend – old or new – when times are difficult.

It can look like rallying together to help someone in your community who is in need.

It can look like getting up multiple times during the night to help your child get back to sleep if she is having a bad dream or can’t get comfortable.

It can look like taking your dog outside when it is pouring buckets, only to have him sniff around instead of doing what you thought he needed to do. (Hmm, is that an oddly specific example or what?).

It can look like celebrating the good fortune of someone in your life, even when things aren’t going so great in your own life.

It can look like spending your only day off helping your child and her family get settled into their new house.

It can look like so many things, but we have to learn to recognize it. When I was single, I wondered if I would ever get married. I sometimes worried that I would be “unloved” forever. This was a bit narrow-minded on my part though because I was already surrounded by love; I just didn’t see it because I was focused on a certain type of love. If that sounds familiar to you, then I urge you to take a look at your life and see what types of friendships and relationships that you have developed and could cultivate more. I know that I’m guilty of neglecting friendships, so I’m missing out on a type of love in my life. That sounds kind of weird to say, but it’s part of what makes me a complete person.

Honestly, I’m not sure how to end this post. This was a bit of a tough concept for me to think about, and it’s difficult to write about this when I have been married for a while and see love daily. I guess I just want to say that if you feel lonely or unloved, please reach out to someone. I’ll be glad to be a listening ear if you’d like. There are so many people who go through their lives thinking they are alone, but they don’t need to be. Look for love, and if you can’t find it, create it because love can look like anything that you want it to.

What does love look like to you? Leave a comment and let me know…or help me figure out a better ending to this post! 😉

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Karen Kingsbury is my guilty pleasure author, and even though her books are usually preachy and predictable, I enjoy them. That was not the case for this one. It was so heavy-handed, full of lectures, and derogatory towards anyone who doesn’t agree with her viewpoint that it was difficult for me to finish it. There were also a couple of subplots thrown in that seemed to have almost nothing to do with the main story. I don’t recommend this one at all, and sadly, I’m going to be really hesitant to read any of her books from now on. End of an era…

I needed something decent to read after the Kingsbury fiasco, so I’m glad this one was next! This book was based off a speech that Steve Harvey gave to the audience after a taping of Family Feud. It was encouraging and mixed in some personal stories from his life, which as I’ve said more than once, is right up my alley! If you’re feeling a little stuck in any area of your life, then check this one out.

This one was pretty mediocre. It’s part of a series, and I haven’t read the other ones, but I think I’m okay not reading them if they are as boring as this one was! Only recommended if you need something to put you to sleep!

I listened to this one, which was a change for me because I very rarely listen to books! This book had some really practical tips about budgeting and living a more frugal life. I thought the narrator (the author) was easy to relate to also. I recommend this one to anyone looking to read more about personal finance presented in a straightforward and easy-to-understand way.

This was another audiobook for me. I don’t know who I’m becoming. This one was also narrated by the author, but in this case, it made me dislike her more than I probably would have if I had just read it. The concept of the book is interesting – she embarked on a shopping ban for a year – but I found her a little whiny and entitled. I imagine it’s a lot easier for a single, young professional to save a boatload of money during a shopping ban than it would be for me in the stage of life I’m in. Recommended only if you’re a single, young professional who wonders where all of your money goes. Also, if that describes you, send me a message because I have a few things I’d like you to buy for me…

This was an Erin 8.0 challenge book (the first one I had read since the Kingsbury book). It started out a little confusing because of the family names and the footnotes, but once I got into it, I was hooked. It was the equivalent of watching a soap opera or trashy reality show! It’s going to be a movie soon, and I want to see it to know how some of the characters are portrayed. Recommended if you like gossipy, semi-trashy fluff novels.

I track all of the books I read on Goodreads, and every time I input a new book, I read the reviews of it. When I read the reviews of Crazy, Rich Asians, I discovered that it was the first in a trilogy! I went to the public library’s website and immediately put books 2 and 3 on hold! I’m still waiting on number 3, but I will say that this one was not as good as the first one. Then again, the second title in a trilogy usually isn’t the best one. I still recommend it though, especially if you enjoyed the first one.

Have you ever been let down by an author? Share your heartache with me!

Happy Monday! I’m doing something a little different on here today and participating in a Love Stories Blog Hop! So, if you’re here from Jamie’s blog, welcome to my world!

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I’m sharing a love story on the blog today. But, it’s not going to be about my husband (sorry babe – your time to shine will be next month) or our daughter (sorry chick – your time to shine will be in April). No, I’m going to be a little bit quirky and tell a love story about puppy love…literally. Hope you enjoy!

“I want a dog.”

Those four words may seem innocent, but when my husband said them to me, just two months into our marriage, they struck fear into my heart. He grew up with dogs and felt like he was missing something in his life by not having one. I had never had a dog and really didn’t even like them much, to the point of nearly being afraid of them.

“Uh, okay,” I replied.

I thought the he might put the notion out of his head, or that maybe he meant let’s get a dog later on, but just a few days later, we were on our way to a shelter in the next county after he discovered that they had an Australian Shepherd puppy for adoption. When we got there, he was disappointed to discover that the puppy had already been adopted, and the shelter had not had time to update their website. I was secretly relieved until he suggested walking around and seeing who else was up for adoption.

Browsing a shelter can be heartbreaking, even if you are not an animal lover. Many dogs have a hopeful excitement that you can see in their eyes whenever you linger for a second at their kennels. I could feel my cold, non-dog loving heart start to melt just a little bit.

We looked around at all of the dogs for adoption, and we couldn’t find one that seemed to be a good match for our family. Many of them were older or had been surrendered because of behavioral issues, and we thought that those might not be the best choice for our first family dog, especially because of my lack of experience. We were about to leave, but then the shelter volunteer showed us a crib located next to the cat room. That crib was occupied by a little brindle puppy with white paws named Rocket.

“Let’s take him outside and see if he likes us,” my husband suggested.

He had never worn a collar or a leash, so our first adventure was getting him ready to take out to the play area. Once he was safely outside in their fenced in yard, we unclipped the leash and found out why they named him Rocket! My husband immediately fell in love with him and started tossing a ball to him. I was still unsure about the whole getting a dog situation, so I stood a little bit away from them. Rocket must have known that this was his grand audition for his forever home because he ran up to me and darted under my floor-length skirt.

“He’s saying that he chooses you,” the volunteer said.

In that moment, I was hooked. As he struggled to figure out how to escape my skirt’s prison, I could see our future, full of walks, snuggles, and playing. Three days later, Rocket, renamed to Koopa (although Rocket is his middle name, used often when he is in trouble), became an official member of our family.

Having a new member of the family was a huge adjustment at first. There were crate escapes, items destroyed, and many, many middle of the night wake ups for potty breaks. We had to learn how to train him to be a good canine, and he had to learn how to live with us. It was a learning process for everyone, but we slowly adjusted.

Now, nearly five years later, I can’t imagine life without him, nor can I really remember why I was so indifferent towards dogs. He’s a big, goofy, playful boy who’s fiercely loyal to us. I’m glad I (reluctantly) said yes to us getting a puppy because now our daughter will know what it’s like to experience the unconditional love of a dog. Plus, maybe her toddler energy will finally be a match for our Rocket dog!